Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 15: This cake would make you forget all the other flavours you've had so far, that's how intricate and extraordinarily has it been baked.
Based on a Banarasi Saree and traditional Indian jewellery in terms of design, this 32-inch long cake is a blend of colours, motifs, floral embellishments and icing replications of zari work done on actual sarees.
It is also shaped like a 'kumkum dibbi' (vermillion box), a symbolic part of the traditional makeup of an Indian woman. This cake masterpiece is baked by Prachi Dhabal Deb, who fondly named it "Shringaar Cake". In a conversation with "TC" , the cake designer opened up about the motivation behind this unusually intricate design of the cake.
"This cake was for an international collaboration from Italy where we were asked to make something representing our cultural fashion. I took inspiration for the cake's design from my saree and jewellery, which are both rooted in Indian tradition. My saree was gifted to me by my mother at the time of my wedding and hence, it is close to my heart," Prachi said. Prachi then went on to explain the actual process behind the design of the picturesque cake. "The colour of my saree and the design on its border were inspirations for the look of the cake. I used vegan royal icing and hand-piped each of the designs on the cake's surface. Then I coloured them with edible dust and edible gel colours," she told "TC"
Noting the intricacies of the weaved designs on the saree, which took time to be replicated on the cake, Prachi said, "To get the same intricate look on the edible medium I piped thousands of individual dots through a piping bag and painted them with edible gold". At present, this enormous and minutely crafted cake is put up for display at Prachi's cake studio in Pune. Prior to this, Prachi had created a cake replica of Italy's Grand Milan Cathedral. She told "TC" about her motivation to make such artsy cakes, "I always believe that for an artist it is important that we keep on working. Since we are in the creative field, we get new ideas every day....my aim is to promote the art form as much as I can, and thankfully people all around have been very appreciative so it boosts our morale".
